On Saturday night, Donald Trump took to Twitter to update the public on his latest reversal. He won’t actually be hosting the 2020 Group of Seven (G-7) economic summit at his Miami resort. That’s great, obviously. But Trump lashed out and blamed bipartisan criticism, saying that the backlash pushed him to reverse the decision. Of course, he admitted no wrongdoing.
Here are those two tweets:
Oh. And here’s a third, where he describes others as “crazed” and “irrational,” which is definitely rich coming from the tweeter in chief:
As we know, Trump can’t seem to stop himself from using his presidency to help his private businesses. The criticism—which came from some Republicans, even—is entirely valid. Trump’s attempt to host the summit at his private resort would ordinarily fit the descriptor “brazen,” but given that he’s Trump, it’s hardly surprising.
Instead of Doral, the administration is now considering Camp David.
Perhaps most importantly, Democrats aren’t letting the issue go now that Trump has changed his mind. Why? Because, in simple terms, the move to host the summit at Doral—which, is again, Trump’s private resort—feels like a textbook violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. In layman’s terms, the Emoluments Clause prevents people who hold federal office (like, the literal president) from accepting payments from the federal government, individual U.S. states, or foreign countries.
So while Trump’s series of vaguely coherent tweets proclaim that the Trump Organization was going to host it at “NO PROFIT,” that’s at best difficult to prove, and at worst, a lie. There’s also the reality that even if he didn’t accept a dime in technical payments, hosting the summit gives the resort (and his other properties) a load of publicity… which, reasonably, turns to profit. Unless of course people find bedbugs!
There’s also the reality that the resort has had declining revenues and profits for years. So… Why would he want to host for free? It doesn’t make a single bit of sense, and is, again, an enormous ethics violation.
2020 hopeful and Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted the following jab… And surprising no one, she has a plan to hit corruption where it hurts:
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and fellow 2020 presidential hopeful, Julián Castro also tweeted:
Basically: Trump reversed his decision. That’s great, but given that it was wildly inappropriate and wrong, to begin with, it’s no time to be giving him a pat on the back.